AMELIA
I can’t believe what I’m seeing. My best friend is down there in the warehouse. She’s right there pointing a gun at Leo. He just called her Monica. Even her face looks different. More twisted. Who the hell is she?
I haven’t got time to think. Right now, help is coming, but by the time it gets here, it’s going to be too late.
I blame myself. It took so long to get up to the casino and make the call that by the time I came back down, everything changed.
The Don is on his way. He had an older voice than I was expecting when I got through. He knew exactly who I was though, which was pretty scary. “Leo told me about you,” he said.
I told him what was happening, and he listened without saying anything. When I was done he just said, “Where’s Leo?”
“I don’t know. I left him back at Molly’s place when I went in the car, but he could be anywhere now.”
“Get somewhere safe. I’m bringing everyone.”
I thought about getting somewhere safe. For about a second. Then I thought about the women and girls left in the shipping container. I couldn’t leave them to their fate.
I tried to get the doorman to come with me but he took one look at the cliff edge and noped out of there, told me he wasn’t getting paid enough to climb down shit like that.
So that meant just me doing this.
I came down the way I went up, working my way down the cliff side until I got to the place where I hid the gun. I dug it out and then clambered a few feet back up so I could see inside the warehouse.
I heard voices shouting, so I stayed where I was. I’m still here. Pressed up against the rock and hiding as best I can in the shadows.
I’m about ten feet from ground level, on a jutting shelf with an overhang above my head. I can see Leo. He’s being held by two men. There are three more with guns pointing at him.
He came back for me. That’s what I thought when I first saw him. After everything I said to him, he came back for me. I don’t know how he found out where I was being kept, but there’ll be time to ask about that later if we both survive. I might also ask him why his suit’s soaking wet.
For now, I need to work out what the hell to do. I could take a shot at Molly. Or Monica, or whatever her proper name is.
I can’t shoot my best friend, can I? It hits me a second later. She must be the snitch he was looking for. He didn’t come back to save me. He came to kill her. But they got the drop on him somehow, and now he’s trapped.
I don’t know what to do. If I shoot, there’s a chance I’ll miss and kill him. I haven’t exactly got great aim. The one time I went to a shooting range, I only once hit the target, and that was two years ago. What are the chances of me hitting Molly before she kills Leo?
Even if I kill her, the others will turn their guns on me. I’m a dead woman no matter what I do.
I’m going to have to try. It might give Leo long enough to escape in the confusion.
I lift the gun and close one eye, looking down the sight at Molly, trying to keep a steady hand. It keeps shaking. I force myself to relax, difficult as she’s yelling at him, telling him she’s about to shoot him. She’s got the rifle to his forehead. It’s now or never.
“I’m sorry, Molly,” I say, going to squeeze the trigger.
At the same moment, there’s a tremendous explosion from the ship sitting next to the warehouse. A hole bursts out of the side of it, a roaring flame shooting forth and swallowing the three men pointing guns at Leo.
They catch alight and run screaming, too panicked to jump into the water and save themselves. The others look that way, and Leo is getting to his feet.
Did my shot hit? I force my eyes from the blast and see that Molly is laid out on the floor, not moving. I shot her. I killed her. I killed my best friend.
No, not shot. There’s no bullet hole. The force of the blast has thrown her against the crates and knocked her out. The two men who were holding Leo are staggering back from the blast and he’s been winded too, but he recovers faster.
He gets hold of a gun and points it at one man. He fires and the man falls. The other man looks at him and raises his own weapon.
I shoot first. The man falls to the ground. I got him. I killed him. I killed someone.
The thought rises and falls. I haven’t time to think about it. Deal with that later. Leo is turning, looking out at the cliff face. He sees me and waves. “It’s all over,” he shouts, running toward me.
I clamber down and run into his arms. He grabs hold of me and squeezes me so tight I think I might pop. “Easy,” I say, trying to catch my breath. “Ease up, big guy.”
“Glad you’re alive,” he says, stepping back, the smile falling from his face. “Was that your shot?” he asks.
I nod, looking over his shoulder into the warehouse. “Was that your explosion?”
The boat is sinking low in the water, the flames hissing as the waves splash against them. “It’s over,” he says. “The snitch is dead. I need to call the Don.”
“No need. He’s on his way.”
“What? How do you know that?”
“I called him, told him you were in trouble. He’s bringing an army with him.”
“Just in time to clean the mess up.”
He kisses me, his lips pressing against mine, and for the first time in hours, I feel safe. I want the moment to last forever. It doesn’t.
I look over at Molly. “Shit,” I say, grabbing Leo’s hand. “Look.”
She’s not there. He turns and sees the spot where she was laying. “Stay close to me,” he says. “She’s got to be around here somewhere.”
“What if she’s running?” I ask. “What if she gets away?”
“She won’t. She wants to tie up the loose ends.” He points his gun into the warehouse and calls out. “Monica. Come on out and let’s finish this.” “Fuck you, Leo,” she shouts back. There’s a shot and a bullet whizzes past me, so close I can feel the heat of it. I duck behind the crates and Leo covers my body with his. “Stay there,” he says. “Don’t move.”
“Wait,” I tell him, grabbing his arm. “Don’t go out there.”
He looks at me and then nods. “Got a better idea?”
“You’re looking at the bait,” I say, standing up with my arms above my head. “Watch for her.”
I step out from behind the crates, hands on my head. “Can we talk?” I yell to Molly wherever she’s hiding. “Come on, Molly. It’s me. Your best friend. What can I do to put this right?”
She steps out from behind a bunch of crates. She’s got the rifle in her hand and it’s pointing at me. “You can get back in the container with the other whores,” she says. “Stop jerking me around, Amelia.”
“What happened to you?” I ask, taking a step toward her. “I thought you loved me.”
“Loved you?” she says with a laugh. “I used you, Amelia. You’re so fucking stupid, you never worked it out. Oh, and my name’s not Molly. It’s Monica. Monica Belluci.”
“What?”
“You always look so gormless when you’re surprised, anyone ever told you that? Vacant like the light’s gone out up there. Always were the dumb one, weren’t you? You were the perfect cover. Not only that, but you told me everything I needed to know about it all.”
“Like what?”
“That you’re an easy mark. That’s why Leo likes you. Dumb and easy to manipulate.”
It all happens in an instant. She raises the rifle and fires. I hear a shot from behind me.
Molly is on the ground. This time she’s not getting up. Half her face is missing. I turn and Leo has been hit too. He’s holding his side and groaning.
“We need to get you help,” I say. “I’ll call for an ambulance.”
“Just grazed me,” he replies, grunting as he comes out into the open. “We need to burn this place, show the Beluccis what happens when they fuck with the Gianni famiglia.”
He walks over to Molly and reaches into her inside pocket, pulls out a leather notebook. He flicks through the pages and then pockets it.
“Give me a phone,” I say. “You must have a phone on you.”
He reaches into his jacket pocket, wincing as he hands one to me. “Use that.”
He digs straw out of the nearest crate, tossing it over toward the fire.
“Not yet,” I shout. “We need to get the others out first.”
“What others?”
“The others in the container. Wait there.” I run over to the shipping container, but there’s a padlock on the outside. “It’s locked,” I shout to Leo. “What do I do?” The flames are getting closer. Soon they’ll be cooked alive in there.
“Get back,” he says. He’s got an ax from somewhere and he swings it at the lock. The first time he catches metal, but the ax bounces away. Same for the second time. On the third attempt, he hits the lock in the right place and it falls off.
I shove the handle up and the door comes loose. With some effort, I pull it open and shout inside. “Come on out, quickly.” I can hear sirens in the distance.
Smoke is filling the warehouse as they all run out after me. We sprint through the chaos to the open door onto the dockside. From there, I slow down, leading them up past the other warehouses toward the entrance.
As I walk, I’m calling for an ambulance. I look back and Leo is nowhere to be seen. I run back, but the warehouse is an inferno. If he’s in there, he’s gone for good.
“Did you see him?” I ask the others as I get back to them. “Did anyone see Leo?”
“He jumped in the water,” Moira says, pointing back toward the boat. “Said he’d make his own way out of here. Said he’d see you around.”
There’s an explosion in the warehouse. Something goes up and black smoke billows into the sky. “We need to move,” Moira says, grabbing my arm. I want to go back and get him, but we’re trapped on this side of the flames.
Moira drags me away as more popping sounds follow. Everything in there is burning. At the entrance to the dockyard, I collapse. I can’t go any further. Leo’s gone again. I barely had time to speak to him and he’s gone.
I can hear sirens approaching. Bright lights are flashing up the street. Ambulances, squad cars, fire trucks, all heading this way. I get up again with some effort, moving the group to the side of the road.
The fire trucks get here first, followed by the police. “What happened here?” Malcolm asks, scratching his head as he looks at the group of us. He spots me and comes over. “Amelia, mind telling me what the hell’s going on?”
“It’s a long story,” I reply, looking back down at the warehouse. I think of Leo swimming out of here. Is he gone for good this time?
I know he doesn’t need to stay. His job’s done. The snitch is dead. He’s got the chip back. He can go back to the city and get on with his life.
I wish I could say the same about me. Someone has kidnapped me. I’ve shot someone. My best friend is dead. I don’t even know how to deal with it all.
I want Leo. I’ve no right to want him. He never promised me more than forty-eight hours, but I still want him.
I want to be in his arms, feeling safe. Instead, I’m alone despite all the surrounding people. I feel I’ll spend the rest of my life alone after this. Leo is gone. Men use you, then leave. It’s what they do. I look back at the fire. It’s over. It’s all over.